This season, after opening with wins against Chattanooga and Nevada, the Bulls lost nine of their final 10 games, including their last three in which they were outscored 94-22 against Miami, Cincinnati and Pitt.

Holtz, the son of Lou Holtz, had been successful at his previous head coaching stops. Prior to taking over at USF, Holtz spent five seasons at East Carolina. He took the Pirates to bowl games in his final four seasons and compiled a 38-27 overall record.

At Connecticut, Holtz was 34-23 in five seasons prior to the Huskies becoming a FBS member in football. In 1998, his final season there, UConn was 10-3 and lost in the Division I-AA quarterfinals.